One of the major theological ideas in Messianic Judaism is that Jesus is the Passover sacrifice. This idea that Jesus was a sacrifice has recently been a topic of the movie "The Passion of Christ." However, is this true? Could a man be the Passover sacrifice? With a closer look, we can see that Jesus could not possibly be the Passover sacrifice. This essay will review the various aspects of the Passover sacrifice, and how Jesus could not live up to the role. The WhatWhen we encounter the Passover sacrifice in the Bible, there are a number of aspects that stand out. First, the sacrifice is a lamb, not a human. In fact, G-d outlines in the Bible all of the sacrifices that are allowable. This includes sheep, goats, bulls, birds....but not humans. Human sacrifice is Biblically illegal. Following the receiving of the Law, anyone who would sacrifice a human would qualify as a murderer (for killing a person) or an idol worshiper (as many of the polytheistic faiths had human sacrifice as part of their beliefs), both of which are punished by death. Additionally, the animal that was going to be sacrificed, whether for the Passover sacrifice or for any other sacrifice, had to be blemish-free. Any animal with bruises, wounds, etc. are disqualified. In the case of Jesus, he was blemished and wounded prior to being crucified, which would disqualify him as a sacrifical animal (as if the fact that human sacrifice is Biblically illegal is not enough). Certainly, his crucifixion only served to further injure him prior to his death, which again completely disqualifies him as a sacrifice. Finally, we have to remember that the Passover sacrifice was eaten by the family that brought the sheep for the sacrifice. Specifically, it was eaten in a roasted form. Clearly, Jesus was never roasted nor did anyone try to eat him (of course, human flesh is not Kosher, so treating Jesus as a Passover sacrifice would only further violate Biblical law), so calling Jesus the Passover sacrifice is not supported. The WhereIt is also important that there is a "where" aspect of the Passover sacrifice that Jesus did not meet. The Passover sacrifice took place at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. It was patently illegal for it to take place elsewhere. The location of the Passover sacrifice is Biblically mandatory, not optional. Where was Jesus crucified? He was crucified on the cross, away from the Holy Temple. Any sacrifice taking place at a non-authorized local is Biblically unacceptable. Again, the problem of "where" demonstrates that Jesus cannot be the Passover sacrifice. The WhoThe Bible outlines in crystal-clear detail who was allowed to conduct the sacrifice. Only the Kohanim, the Priestly class, were allowed to perform this ritual. No one else, not even another Jew, could perform the sacrificial rites. In the case of Jesus, he was killed by the Romans. The Romans are clearly not Jewish priests, hence providing another reason why Jesus cannot be the Passover sacrifice. Further, the sacrifice was performed by the Kohamim in a highly specific manner that involved using a knife for the ritual slaughter. Jesus was killed using a cross, a Roman method of killing anyone that they believed had participated in an act of Sedition against the Roman empire. Who killed Jesus, and how he was killed further disqualifies Jesus as the Passover sacrifice. The WhyAccording to Messianic Judaism, Jesus' death was a sacrifice for our sins. However, the Passover sacrifice has absolutely nothing to do with atonement or sin. The original Passover sacrifice had a number of purposes. First, G-d ordered that the blood of the sheep be placed on the doorposts, to identify who was Jewish. This ensured that G-d passed over their homes, and only killed the Egyptian firstborn. The second reason comes through our sages. What made the act of killing a sheep important was that Egyptians worshiped the sheep. By killing a sheep, the Jewish people were placing themselves in great danger, leaving the door open for the Egyptian people to take revenge against them for killing their god (on a side note, this is identical to the Christian claim of "Deicide", killing of their god, Jesus). Thus, the Jews showed even more strength in their belief in G-d by doing this. It is also vital to note that the Passover sacrifice was conducted with a very different ritual than the sacrifice for sin (e.g. in the sacrifice for sin, there is a ritual of placing blood on the horns of the altar, something which was not done with the Passover sacrifice). One a Biblical level, you could not possibly confuse one ritual with the other. Again, we are left with the Messianic Jewish claim being completely contrary to the Bible. The Temporal Nature of SacrificeIn Messianic Judaism, they claim that by accepting Jesus' "sacrifice", you receive the benefits of the "sacrifice", namely, atonement. I have already demonstrated that the Passover sacrifice had nothing to do with atonement, so I will explore another issue, that of Time. Sacrifice in Judaism is highly time-specific. For the sacrifices for sin, they applied only to events prior to the actual sacrifice. As an example, say I broke a law on Tuesday, and my last sacrifice was on Monday. I cannot apply the Monday sacrifice to my Tuesday behavior. This is true even if the Tuesday behavior is the same type of act that caused me to offer the Monday sacrifice. By Biblical law, I have to offer a new sacrifice for my Tuesday behavior. I cannot say, "I accept the sacrifice from Monday to cover my behavior for Tuesday." When Messianic Jews attempt to use Jesus as a sacrifice for acts following Jesus' death, they are attempting to apply a past sacrifice to later sinful behavior, which is just not possible in Judaism. SummaryOverall, Jesus cannot possibly be the Passover sacrifice. Messianic Judaism is wrong in its assessment as to what is sacrificed, where the sacrifice takes place, who does the sacrifice, the meaning of the sacrifice and the temporal nature of sacrifice. They repeatedly violate the Bible in their claims of finding "the Christ in the Passover." There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them: Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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